[Great Verses] Prayer of the LordSample

And lead us not into temptation 

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. 

Jesus begins with two personal petitions: provision for the present and pardon for the past. In the third petition, Jesus teaches us to ask for protection for the future. From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible teaches us that there are unseen spiritual beings all around us. There are angels led by Michael and demons led by Satan engaged in a cosmic spiritual battle. Demons oppose God in every way and are out to destroy your soul and ruin your life.

Many Christians pretty much ignore the spiritual battle. They are a bit too sophisticated for such things. But not Jesus. He did not ignore the raging battle fueled by fear and pride. Rather, he courageously fought the battle. Perhaps the best statement about biblical balance in spiritual warfare was given by C.S. Lewis in the preface to his book, The Screwtape Letters: “There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight.”

It is noteworthy that in the only sample prayer that Jesus gives us, one of the three requests concerns the spiritual battle. This suggests that prayer concerning the battle is important and should be a significant part of our daily prayer lives. Fight the battle. In Christ’s strength, fight the battle.